The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama who is presently stationed in the holy place of Bodhgaya on Monday began his teachings with more than 15,000 devotees attending from around the world at the Kalachakara ground.
“Here we are gathered at this extraordinary place of Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment,” His Holiness told the audience, “but being here is not about saying prayers or engaging in ritual activities. The Buddhas don’t wash unwholesome deeds away with water, nor do they remove the sufferings of beings with their hands, nor do they transplant their own realization into others. It is through teaching the truth of suchness that they help beings find freedom. This is a unique feature of the Buddha’s doctrine and it means we have to pay attention to what he taught.” His Holiness the Dalai Lama began to address the gathering after taking his seat on the throne.
Prior to beginning the actual course of his teaching, the Tibetan spiritual leader advised that love is defined as a wish that others be happy; compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering. If you cultivate love and compassion within yourself, it will ensure happiness, good health and peace of mind.
The His Holiness began his the teaching, “The teaching today will be ‘The Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas’, which will serve as a preliminary to the Vajrabhairava empowerment and the cycle of teachings concerning Manjushri. The commitment for the Vajrabhairava empowerment is to cultivate the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the view of emptiness daily. That for the Manjushri cycle is to say one ‘mala’ round of ‘Mig-tse-mas’.”
This subject of his teaching is schedule to continue till December 26. His Holiness will give 3 days of empowerments on December 28, 29 and 30 mornings on the The Wheel of Teachings on Manjushri (jamyang choekor), based on its proximal lineage. On December 31 morning, there will be a long life offering ceremony for His Holiness offered by the Central Tibetan Administration, Namgyal Monastery and Shelkhar Ngashap.